


The Brothers

by matthewsbj



Category: The OC (TV)
Genre: Bonding, Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:15:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24630658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/matthewsbj/pseuds/matthewsbj
Summary: Takes place shortly after Trey is released from prison (The Brothers Grimm (2x17)). A completely different Trey then what we saw; one that would have been better for Ryan. It also shows Sandy and Kirsten as united couple/parents, and not how divided they seemed to be in the latter half of the second season. I've decided to continue this series.
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

Seth, Ryan and Trey were all in the den attacking each other virtually. Kirsten was in the kitchen getting everything ready for dinner, which would be delivered soon. She smiled to herself at the noises coming from the other room. Normally, she would be on the boys to keep the volume at a reasonable level. This time, however, she didn’t mind the gleeful shouts of the victor or the indignant cries of the victim. It had only been a few days since Trey’s release from prison, and it seemed as though her initial fear of how it would affect Ryan was exaggerated. Ryan seemed truly happy that he had his biological brother nearby and that Trey seemed to be doing relatively well. Seth also seemed to be adjusting well to their new house guest. She happened to glance at the clock and she was brought back to the present.

“Boys! Dinner will be here any minute. Why don’t you all go wash up for dinner?” she called from the kitchen.

Seth was the first to respond. “Ok, Mom. Just give me a few seconds to finish kicking Trey’s as… um, butt,” he quickly corrected.

She shook her head ruefully as she went back to the kitchen to finish getting things ready for dinner. She had to admit to herself that she felt a little nervous with Trey in the house. She and Sandy had talked about how they were going to handle the situation when they found out that Trey was going to be released. They knew Ryan wanted to try and rebuild the somewhat fractured relationship he had with his brother, and they knew the best, safest way to do that was under their watchful eye. 

With all of that in mind, they invited Trey into their home. While the past few days had gone without incident, she was still unsure of how to act around him. She truly thought of Ryan as her son, and so there was a little bit of her that was nervous about how Trey would react to all of her mothering. She and Sandy thought that having family dinners, all 5 of them, would help to alleviate some of the weirdness they had picked up from everyone the last few days. Tonight was going to be the first, and so she wanted everything to go well. 

A moment or two later, the doorbell rang as Sandy was making his way into the kitchen. He answered the door and picked up the food that was delivered. Bringing it in to the kitchen, he called into the den, “All right, fellas. Dinner’s here. Turn that off, and come and get it.”

They heard a couple of grumbles, mostly from Seth, come from the den. The TV did get turned off, though, as they all made their way into the kitchen to get their food. Kirsten was at the island helping with the food. Ryan was the first to get to the counter and start to fill his plate. When he got closer to Kirsten, she couldn’t help but reach up to push the shaggy bangs out of his eyes.

She told him, “It looks like someone needs a haircut. I’ll call and make you guys an appointment with Markos.”

Ryan could help but groan and roll his eyes. “Markos?! Do you have to?” He knew he was practically whining, but the few times that Kirsten forced him to go to her hair stylist he found he hated the trips. “I know he’s always checking me out. He gives me the willies!” 

“Yeah, Mom. After all, Markos isn’t exactly qualified to touch a perfect specimen of hair like this,” Seth replied, while running his fingers through his dark locks. He really didn’t enjoy the trips to his mother’s hair dresser, either.

Turning towards Sandy, to try and get his support, Ryan continued, “Can’t we just to a regular barber shop?!”

Sandy put his arms up in surrender, then picked up his food, and made his way over to the table as he said, “Hey, guys, don’t look at me.” Once he was seated, he continued, “Unfortunately, I’ve been dragged to your mother’s hair… person… so many times, I don’t think I even know what the inside of a barber shop looks like anymore.”

After everyone else had their food and was seated at the table, Kirsten brought a pitcher of iced tea over to the table and started filling the glasses. After filling Ryan's glass, he looked at her and said, "Thanks, Mo..., oh, I mean, Kirsten." Ryan caught himself, but it was already out there. He blushed a deep red, while everyone at the table stopped in their tracks. Ryan refused to look at anyone, staring intently at his plate. He had even thought about retreating to the pool house.

Seth and Sandy kept looking between Kirsten, Ryan, and Trey while holding their breath awaiting the fallout. Kirsten kept watching Trey for his reaction. Trey, however, was looking at Ryan, with an amazing amount of thoughtfulness. After a couple of minutes, Trey put his fork down and leaned back in his chair. 

"You know what, Ry, it's ok. I've learned a few things over the last couple of years. And while I've only been around you and Cohen's for a few days, I've discovered something." He waited for Ryan to look at him and when he didn't, Trey tapped his arm to get his attention. "You know what I've discovered? You've got a family, man!"

Sandy carefully studied Trey's face to try and judge his sincerity. He was somewhat startled to realize that Trey was being honest. This didn't seem to be quite the troubled young man he had read about. When he found out Trey was going to be released from prison, and the potential threat to Ryan would skyrocket, he had called in a couple favors and got a copy of Trey's record. It was a rather extensive read, involving multiple run-ins with the law for various reasons and reports of alleged physical abuse that were never investigated. He hadn't said anything about what he had read to Kirsten; he didn't want to needlessly upset her at this point. However, he was more determined to keep a close eye on the young man, especially around Ryan. After the last couple of days, however, he was beginning to think that the system had actually worked for someone. 

Sandy glanced at Kirsten and he unconsciously smiled. She hadn't switched into The Kirsten yet, but she was in Full-Mother mode, watching Ryan's reaction and making sure that Trey was on the level. It wasn't anything that the boys could pick up on yet, but he'd known her for long enough to know when she was on full alert. Another reason why he loved her so much!

Ryan screwed his face up in confusion, so Trey continued. "Come on, man. You know Dawn wasn't a mother; and Frank wasn't a father, even when he was around. The only thing that came close to a normal relationship was what you and I had. And I nearly threw it all away.”

Ryan tried to reassure his brother. “Trey, you didn’t….”

But he didn’t get the chance. Trey held up his finger to stop Ryan. “Yes, I did, little brother. And I am so thankful that you still want me around you.”

Ryan again tried to protest, “Trey…”

But that was all he was able to get out. Trey again interrupted him, a little bit more forcefully to emphasize his point, “First, I get you arrested. And then with what happened when you visited me a couple of Thanksgivings ago…., I never thought you would see me again.” Although he left out any details, Ryan still shot daggers at him. He was afraid that Trey would let slip with some details about that little adventure that he was sure the Cohen’s would want to know more about, even after almost 2 years.

However, it did pique Kirsten’s curiosity. “Wait. What about Thanksgiving?”

Trey actually smiled at that. “And that right there is another good example. These people care about you; they want to know what is going on in your life. That is what parents are supposed to do.” He turned and looked at Sandy and Kirsten with a meaningful look, “And now it looks like you have some pretty good parents.” Then turning to Seth, he took a deep breath and said, “And you have a pretty great brother, whose example, I can hopefully follow.” He kept eye contact with Seth for a second longer and they nodded to each other, Seth having a new appreciation for Ryan’s older brother.

He turned back to Ryan for a couple of seconds with his eyebrows arched to know that Ryan understood what he was saying.

He then turned his attention back to the elder Cohens. “As much to Ryan, I owe you my thanks. Not only for taking care of him so well, but also letting me be around him for the last few days. I’ve enjoyed being able to start repairing our relationship. I’ve also realized how much I had taken our relationship for granted before. As you already know, Ryan’s a great guy; and I didn’t appreciate it, until now. I would like to be back in Ryan’s life, but I understand that you guys probably have some reservations about that. Whatever terms you put on the table, I will follow. I know I’ll need a job and get a place of my own. But whatever else it takes, just tell me. Even if it’s staying away from him until you can trust me.”

Ryan was about to speak up to balk about that last bit, but again Trey cut him off. “No, Ry. _I_ have to do this. I want to be a part of your life again, but I have to go through your folks.”

That wasn’t the first time in the last few minutes that Trey had referred to the Cohens as his parents, and although he obviously was really starting to look at them as his parents, hearing someone else refer to them like that, especially Trey, was kind of weird. But he supposed he had been thinking about it on different levels for long enough, that is was sounding more natural the more it was being said out loud. 

Both Sandy and Kirsten looked at each other and sighed heavily. Kirsten was glad that she had married Sandy, especially at times like this. They loved each other so deeply, they often times knew what each other was thinking just by reading each other’s faces. It was helpful in a lot of situations, as they didn’t have to deliberate as much or talk over things; they were able to know if they were in agreement just by looking at each other. And this was just one of those occasions; she knew that he was in agreement with her, and they could provide a united front. Despite that unity, she was still glad that Sandy decided to start speaking for them; after all, he was the lawyer and knew how to talk.

“Let me start, Trey, by saying that we agree on several things. First of all, Ryan is a part of our family, and very important part of that family. You’re right in that he is our son. However, that will never change your relationship with him.”

Kirsten added, “We can tell how much you two care for each other. I can tell Ryan has enjoyed the last few days having you around again.” She glanced and Ryan and give him a wink. He smiled shyly back and his face tinted a little bit with the knowledge that she was able to read him so well. He must be slipping; he thought he could hide his feelings better. Or maybe he didn’t have to anymore….

Sandy sighed again as he continued, “But, you’re also right in that you don’t have the best track record with making sound decisions. That being said, I do believe you mean what you said; you want to change your life around for the better.” He reached over and laced his fingers through Kirsten’s. “And we have no problem in helping you do just that, as long as we are sure that you are not putting Ryan in any danger.”

Trey nodded fervently, “I understand. I won’t put Ryan an any more danger. I don’t want to screw up anymore.”

Kirsten took a moment to look at her entwined hand with Sandy’s and then glanced at him as an idea came to her. She turned back to Trey, “I think a job is an excellent first step. I think that I can come up with something at the Newport Group. It won’t be anything glamourous, but we always need filing to be done and errands ran.”

Seth was the first to speak up about that, “What about Grandpa? Is he going to be ok with that?”

Ryan was hot on his tails, “Yeah, you know how he feels about me. How’s he going to feel about Baby Face Nelson over here?”

Kirsten was overjoyed at the fact that Ryan was starting to feel better about the situation where he could start joking with his brother, especially about the incident that brought everyone to this point now.

Trey was apparently eager to lighten the mood, as well. “Hey, I never shot anyone! And if there’s anyone with a baby face….” He took a moment to glance over at Seth and study his face. “Yeah, no offense Seth, but Ry, you’ve got the baby face around here.” And he punctuated his ribbing by reaching over and pinching Ryan’s cheek, only to receive an epic glare from Ryan.

With Ryan’s glare quieting the room, Kirsten was able to get the boys’ attention again. “You guys let me worry about your grandfather. It’s about time I starting defending you more to him. Trey, I’ll also talk with someone on our residential side and see what apartments are available.”

Sandy added, “Until we can find something, you are more than welcome to stay here.” 

Kirsten then continued, “In face, why don’t we move you out of the pool house and up to one of the rooms upstairs, and that will be your room. And Ryan, why don’t you move upstairs next to him, and across from Seth. That way, you can all be together”

Ryan was happy about the suggestion, if nothing else, because they wanted him to be “closer” to their family. But, he really liked the pool house. He might have to really think hard about that. But before he could say anything, Trey cut into his thoughts.

“I can’t do that. It’s too much, you’ve already done so much. I’d never be able to thank you enough or repay you!”

Sandy told him, “Hey, you’re a part of the family now. But if you do want to pay us back, then live up to what you just told us. Turn your life around, and be a person worthy of being Ryan’s brother.” He emphasized his point by arching his eyebrows.

Trey was virtually speechless. He was clearly touched by what the Cohens were offering him. “I’ll try,” was all he could say.

Kirsten understood what he was going through and reached over the table and patted his hand. “That’s all we ask of Seth and Ryan; to try.” 

It seemed like Trey and Ryan were all talked out, and the conversation had come to a close. Everyone was kind of looking at each other a little awkwardly. 

Sandy finally turned to Ryan, “Now, what was this about something happening at Thanksgiving….”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place about 2 weeks after the first part.

It was a late Monday afternoon. Kirsten held a cup of tea, looking out the patio door, watching her three boys. “ _My boys? When did I start thinking of Trey as one of my boys?”_ , she thought to herself, as she smiled. It seemed so natural now. Both she and Sandy had commented on the lessened tension in the house since their discussion a couple of weeks ago regarding Trey’s place in their home and family. They hadn’t noticed it before, but now that it was gone, it’s presence was apparent. The more time she spent with Trey, the more she realized that it was he that influenced Ryan’s personality so much. The incident that landed both boys in her home at this moment seemed to be nothing more than stupid decisions boys make sometimes. 

It seemed as though Trey was still very serious about proving himself to her and Sandy. Even now, she watched Trey cleaning the pool. He had decided to take on that particular chore. She had to smile, too, at the interaction between Trey, Ryan, and Seth. Trey was in the pool moving slowly vacuuming the bottom, Ryan was sitting on the edge with his feet and legs dangling in the water, and Seth was reading a comic on one of the loungers. As she watched them, she saw Seth periodically peer over his comic to catch Ryan’s eye and give him a signal. When Trey had his back turned, Ryan would kick water at his older brother. Trey would simply turn around and chide Ryan about needing to keep the water calm to clean it effectively. Then he would round on Seth for egging on his brother. But even Kirsten could see the corners of his mouth tugging upwards into a smile. It was apparent that all her boys, _yes, all three of her boys_ , were happy to have each other around.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by the ringing of the phone. After answering it, she went out onto the patio. “Ok, guys. What do we want for dinner? Your father will pick it up on his way home from work.” After talking about different options, they decided on Italian. “Ok. I’ll go place our order. It should be here in about 30 minutes or so. Start getting cleaned up for dinner.”

Trey turned to her, “But I’m only about half-way finished. It will probably take me about half-an-hour to finish up.”

She looked in the pool at the great job he was doing. “Well, it looks really good to me. You can finish up later. Your father will be home soon. All three of you, go. Clean up.” All three of them started to scatter. They were smart enough not to question her when her sentences started getting really short. It was only as an afterthought that she realized she specifically referred to Sandy as Trey’s father. If he noticed, he didn’t show any reaction, at least a negative one. She made a mental note to be more watchful and talk with Sandy about it later.

Indeed, about 30 minutes the now-expanded Cohen clan sat around the kitchen table with their food. Looking at his family, Sandy asked, “So, what did you guys do today?”

Throwing a proud smile at Trey, Kirsten answered, “Trey cleaned the pool today.” As his face reddened a bit, her smile deepened.

He dipped his head a bit at her praise, “Well, I wasn’t able to finish it. I’ll take care of it after dinner.”

She told him, “Trey, I told you, it’s fine for now. You guys should have fun this evening.”

Trey looked at her and Sandy seriously, “I haven’t forgotten my promise from our talk. I want to stay busy, and I like being out in the pool.”

“Well, thanks again, Trey, for helping out. Kirsten and I appreciate it”, Sandy told him.

Trey’s mentioning their conversation a couple of weeks ago reminded Kirsten of something. “Oh, Trey, I almost forgot. I spoke with HR today and they will process your paperwork first thing tomorrow morning, which means you can start probably Wednesday or Thursday. We can go by the bank tomorrow and make sure that you have all the accounts that you’ll need.”

Trey looked up at her in confusion. “Bank accounts?”

“Yeah. Payroll will need your banking information for direct deposit.”

“Wait. I’m going to get paid?” Trey’s confusion was still evident.

“Well, of course you are. I’m sorry, honey, if I didn’t explain that earlier. We’ll shift you through some of the different departments to get you broader experience. We’ve got some admins that could use some help scanning in contracts to a central database.”

“So, I’m going to be sitting at a computer all day, scanning stuff?” He still seemed a little confused.

“I know it’s not the most exciting or glamorous, but if it gets too boring, just come by my office.”

Trey was surprised that that’s what she was worried about. “No, that’s not what I meant. I thought I would be working outside, especially with my background. I didn’t realize I would be inside working on a computer. And getting paid for it. That will be just fine.”

Kirsten smiled at that. “Good. I’ll see if I can’t get some paperwork to bring home that you can look through to get ready for your first day.”

Seth had been sitting to the side watching the conversation and quietly (as hard as it was for him) eating his meal. He was enjoying the more relaxed atmosphere around the house. But there was a question that had been bugging him for a couple of weeks now, since their “discussion”, as he called it. 

Since Trey and Kirsten had both somewhat referred to it, he saw this as his chance, “I do have a question about the ‘discussion’.” Ryan shuddered a little bit, only imaging what was on Seth’s mind. He refused to look at anything but his plate. Seth was trying to get Ryan’s attention, but he couldn’t get him to raise his head. He continued undeterred, “When is Ryan going to start calling you guys Mom and Dad, too?”

“Seth!” was the stereo reply from both Sandy and Kirsten, not sure what else to say. 

“What? Like you guys haven’t been asking the same question yourselves?!”

Sandy and Kirsten both looked at each other for a second, as Sandy somewhat sheepishly admitted, “Ok, maybe we have, but you keep questions like that to yourself. Especially when they can make others uncomfortable.” Seth simply shrugged his shoulders, as Sandy turned his attention to Ryan and Trey. Ryan still had not stopped his staring contest with his plate, but his face was burning with embarrassment. Trey sat there, watching everyone else appraisingly, stopping on his little brother.

After a moment or two, Trey finally started speaking, with a chuckle, “You know, Seth, I’m actually glad you brought that up. Ryan, I’ve wanted to talk with you about that for a couple of weeks now, but I didn’t know how to bring it up. I think you should,” he added quietly.

Ryan looked up at Trey so fast Kirsten thought he may have given himself whiplash. “What?!”

Trey could see a flood of emotions and thoughts in his eyes. The loyalty to Dawn and Frank. The attraction to all of the Cohens. The hope. The fear. Trey nudged his arm with his shoulder, a comforting act they shared from almost a life time ago. “I told you before, little brother, these are the parents you have always deserved; parents that are worthy of you. I’ve watched you the last couple of weeks, and I know you look at them as your parents, too. It’s time to give them the respect _they_ deserve as your parents.” 

Sandy and Kirsten took hold of each other’s hands other the table. They hoped that Trey’s words would have an impact on Ryan, or at least the impact they were looking for. They so wanted Ryan to accept fully his place in their family, as their son and Seth’s brother. As they watched Ryan, they could see he was really considering what Trey had just said.

Ryan had to admit that Trey was right. He couldn’t quite tell when it had happened, but it had happened. He did view Sandy and Kirsten as his parents. His slip up a couple of weeks all but let that cat out of the bag, and on some level he may have recognized it. However, it wasn’t until Trey hit him over the head with a 2x4 did it really hit him on a conscious level. 

Sandy wanted to help try to alleviate some of the tension he could tell Ryan was feeling. “You know, kid, it’s never easy melding two families into one. You almost never get the “normal” family dynamics. I think what’s important at this point, is that everyone at this table knows what we mean to each other and how we feel. And for now, maybe that’s enough.” He made a point to make eye contact with each person sitting around the table, including Trey, and hold it for a few seconds to emphasize his point. 

Ryan looked down at his hands, took a deep breath, and looked up at Sandy, “I appreciate what you’re saying, I do, but Trey’s right. You guys have given me so much: a home, a family, people who care. I think it happened so gradually that I didn’t really notice until now.” He shyly looked at the three Cohens, “You guys are my family. And, um, if it’s still ok, I would like to call you guys Mom and Dad.”

Sandy and Kirsten beamed with pride and joy as they glanced at each other and then looked at Ryan. Sandy reached over and cupped Ryan’s neck affectionately, “Not much would make your mother and I happier.”

Ryan looked at them both and actually felt the joy that was evident on their faces. He even chanced a glance at Seth and saw a goofy grin on his face. He knew he had made the right decision, not only for himself, but for everyone sitting at the table. 

After Kirsten dabbed at the tears of joy on her face, she looked at her boys, and told them mock sternness, “Ok, boys, finish up your dinner, or you don’t get any of Maggiano’s famous Spumoni ice cream.” She was so happy she couldn’t help teasing her kids.

Relieved that another big discussion was over, he glanced at his brothers with a mischievous glint in his eye, and they all said at once, “Yes, mother!” Sandy and Kirsten shook their heads and rolled their eyes, happy with the change in tension.

As things calmed down, Trey said a silent Thank You to whomever may be listening for how amazingly things worked out. Two years ago, he knew somehow he had to get his little brother away from the rest of the Atwood family, he just never imagined that he would have found themselves together again, and as part of this fantastic family!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had initially posted these chapters to FanFiction.net, and there were many reviews for the first couple of chapters regarding Trey in this story. I just want to make is abundantly clear that the Trey in this universe is very different. He made mistakes, some of them rather large, but he paid for them, and is trying to change; he wants to be a better person, a brother worthy of Ryan (and by extension, Seth).

Trey stood in front of the mirror, as he had been for the last 5-10 minutes. He kept running his hands over any perceived wrinkles in his shirt and tie. It was his first day of work at The Newport Group, and to say that he was nervous was an understatement. Back in Chino, he had never conceived of a scenario where he would have ever worn a shirt and tie; but here he stood. He smiled to himself as he thought back to the last couple of days and how he came to have these new clothes. 

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Flashback begins~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

Last week, Kirsten said he could start working in a couple of days, but that was delayed to the following week. He didn’t really ask why, he was enjoying the time to reconnect with Ryan and get to know Seth better. He had his suspicions that Kirsten was mostly behind the delay, to make sure that he was truly ready. Kirsten had announced one morning while they were all eating breakfast that she was going to be taking Trey to the bank and then the mall. She had asked if Seth and Ryan wanted to go, too. 

Seth immediately pulled out his phone to text Summer to see if she needed him, and he prayed that she did. All the while, he was complaining about previous trips to the mall with his mother; only half-joking that he would rather do manual labor than go shopping with his mother. That earned him a dish rag thrown at him.

Ryan rolled his eyes, as he had a feeling Trey would not be enjoying his outing. He had been on many trips like this, and was always amazed at how much she was willing to pay for stuff that only he would use. He knew what was in store for his brother. Even after all this time, he still secretly liked the trips with Kirsten, as it was time they were able to enjoy just the two of them, seeing as how most times Seth never joined them. However, this time was different. It was Trey’s first shopping extravaganza, and Ryan knew he needed to be there for his brother. 

Trey was a little confused, “Why the mall?”

“Well, I know that you boys have already picked out some new furniture and decorations for your room and you’ve picked up some new clothes, but we need to get you more things.”

“More things? What else could I need?” was all he could ask.

“You’ll need more clothes, and we can pick out more furniture and things for your room; you know, make it your own.”

“Kirsten, thanks, but I really don’t need anything else.” He really didn’t want the Cohen’s to spend any more money on him. 

“Oh, yes, there is. And if you don’t need them now, which you will some of it, you will need it eventually.”

Trey was about to respond, but Ryan wanted to help us brother end this peacefully. He told him, “Man, don’t fight with The Kirsten! She’ll win eventually.”

He looked at Ryan, and knew on some level that he was right. But, despite the miles of progress Trey was making, there were times when old habits came back to roost. He was starting to get a little frustrated that he didn’t think Kirsten was listening to him, which was leading to him getting upset.

He turned back to Kirsten, “I _said_ , I don’t need anything!”

Kirsten was a little surprised to see him getting upset so quickly, but she was able to keep her face neutral. She also knew how to handle the Atwood boys. “Well, be that as it may, we’re still going. So, you have two choices: You can either come with me; or you can stay here in the house, grounded through the weekend!” 

The words were out of her mouth before she even realized it. Did she just threaten to ground a 20-year old, over whom she technically had no control? Well, it was out there now, and she wasn’t about to retract it.

Ryan was more than just a little surprised that things had turned south so quickly. Trey and Kirsten were in a stare down, and Ryan just looked between the two to see who was going to blink first, literally.

At first, Trey was incredulous that Kirsten had just threatened to ground him. He was still glaring at her, who was showing no signs of backing down. He was about to balk at the idea, but then he remembered his promise, and the example he would be setting for his little brother(s). He glanced at Ryan, then threw his hands up in surrender, and sighed heavily. “Fine! When do we leave?”

Ryan watched Trey in amazement. He had never seen his brother back down from anyone or anything. He had stood between Dawn’s boyfriend-of-the-week’s fists and him without flinching; he’d even stood up to gang members. He was impressed with this new side of his older brother.

So, Kirsten, Ryan, and Trey spent the day together. Kirsten rather enjoyed the trip. She was able to get to know Trey a little more, and she was able to get more tidbits about Ryan’s younger childhood. There were so many things about Trey’s reticence about accepting things she bought for him that reminded her of Ryan’s first few months with them. She was delighted to see how much more comfortable Ryan was as he convinced his older brother to get various things for his room. She couldn’t wait to tell Sandy!

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Flashback ends~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

Trey was pulled from his musings by Kirsten calling up the stairs, “Trey, hurry up! We leave in 10 minutes!” Finally, he tore himself from the mirror and made sure he had his wallet, keys, and new cell phone. As he was gathering everything together, Ryan came stumbling into his room. Trey smiled at his sleepiness. He was rubbing the sleep from his eyes, still in his sleep pants and wife-beater. He then plopped down on Trey’s bed and plumped the pillows behind his head to make himself more comfortable. 

Trey put his hands on his hips in mock anger, “Hey, watch it! I just made that!” Ryan simply shrugged his shoulders and smirked at his brother. Just then, Seth came in, as well. He was similarly dressed in his pajamas. He grumbled to Trey, “I know this is your first day of work, but can you please try to keep Mom quiet? Some of us are still trying to sleep. What time is it, anyway?!”

Trey glanced at his new watch, and told him, “It’s 7:20, and we are about to head out.”

“What?! It’s not even 7:30?! I’m going back to bed. Good luck today. Try to avoid grandpa on your first day.”

Trey extended his fist to Seth, “Thanks, bro!” Seth genuinely smiled at the term, as he tapped his own fist with, as it was now cemented in Seth’s mind, his brother. Then he left, going back to bed.

Trey started ushering his other brother out the door, “Come on. Out. I need to get going.” The smile never left Ryan’s face. As he walked past Trey, he pulled him into a tight hug. “I’m really proud of you, big brother! And I’m glad you’re here.”

“Thanks, little brother! I’m happy to be back in your life. And I’m not blowing this chance the Cohens are giving me. I want to do better.”

As they walked out into the hallway, and Trey headed downstairs to their waiting mother, Ryan made his way back to his room, with the smile still in place. He was really enjoying his new life and family!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place at the same time as last chapter. This is more from Ryan’s point of view. There will be another flashback, bringing to light an incident that somewhat references a slightly modified scene from The Brothers Grim (02x17).

Ryan was awoken by someone calling up the stairs. He rolled over to look at the clock on his bedside table: 7:10. It took him a moment or two to understand that it was his mother calling to his older brother to hurry up. His older brother. His mother. Ryan couldn’t help but smile.

He realized that maybe for the first time ever, he was really happy. He had parents that cared about him, worried about him, and loved him. To the point where they grounded him, which definitely sucked, but at the same time didn’t diminish his smile. He had his older brother back in his life, who really seemed to want to do well. And he was pretty happy with his second brother. Sure, he could out talk a professional auctioneer and he could be a little self-centered, but he chalked that up to the fact that he had been an only child for most of his life. Seth had proven to be a great friend, and a brother he was proud to have. 

Speaking of Seth, Ryan knew he had plans with Summer later in the day, and knew that Seth would want to do something in the morning. However, being grounded greatly limits what one can do. Yeah, being grounded sucked! 

If Ryan thought long and hard about it, he could probably see why his parents grounded him, but that didn’t make it any easier to deal with. He wanted to go down to the Pier with Seth; he wanted to go out and celebrate Trey’s first day on the job. But, that just wasn’t going to happen. Being grounded definitely sucked!

And it was all because of that stupid trip to the mall….

~~~~~Begin flashback~~~~~

It was a Wednesday. Trey was going to be starting work at the Newport Group the following week. He was still getting his room situation and setup. Sandy and Kirsten had made it very clear that he could decorate it, and get whatever furniture he wanted. He was still not used to everything and tried to politely turn them down. But, they weren’t having any of it.

Ryan convinced them to let him and Trey go shopping. That afternoon, they headed off to the mall, on what would be a very new experience for Trey. Kirsten ushered them out the front door, with pretty much only one rule: Try to spend no more than $5000 per store. Trey’s jaw practically hit the floor when he heard the outrageous amount. He shook his head as Ryan accepted the limit without even a second thought. It only served to remind him of the life his little brother was living.

Once they got to the mall, Trey was further amazed when they would make purchases, they didn’t have to carry around the bags. Most of the stores simply took their bags for them and ensured them the concierge would get their bags to their car.

After a couple of the stores, Ryan could tell that his brother was not used to buying things for himself, especially using someone else’s money for himself, but most definitely not the amount of money or quality of things he saw. Ryan helped him out a little by getting some stuff for himself, so that hopefully he wouldn’t feel as bad.

As the afternoon went on, Ryan realized how much he enjoyed having his older brother around again.   
Ryan no longer felt the edginess Trey used to exude, and his attitude was much more positive. If he had mentioned it to Seth, Ryan was sure he would have referred to Trey as a pod person, being that he had changed so much. 

As they were walking along looking at some of the stores and enjoying each other’s company again, a mischievous twinkle came into Ryan’s eye. Since they were walking so close to each other, Ryan nudged Trey with his shoulder. Trey looked over to see the glint in his younger brother’s eye, and the almost imperceptible smirk on his face. It only took Trey a moment to recall their tradition growing up. Especially when one of them needed cheering up, usually walking home from school, they would start bumping into each other, eventually to the point of making one of them trip or fall. It never took long after they got started for both brothers to be roaring with laughter.

Trey reciprocated with a slight nudge of his own, his own grin firmly in place. The playful shoving continued for a few minutes, and they were so lost in their own game, neither one of them realized how excited they became. It all came to a head when Ryan shoved Trey, accidentally into a display sitting outside one of the smaller stores they were walking past. Ryan hadn’t shoved him very hard, it just happened that they didn’t see the display and it was very easily knocked over.

Before they really realized what had happened, the earrings that were dangling from the display were strewn everywhere and Trey had ended up flat on his back. A small crowd had managed to form around them. The manager came out of the store when he heard the fracas, and upon seeing the two boys, wasn’t at all pleased.

He told one of his employees to call Security right away. He then turned his attention back to the two miscreants before him, his hands on his hips. “What is going on out here?! What are you two doing?”

Ryan and Trey immediately both started to apologize. Trey was on his feet and picking up the display. Ryan started to pick up the earrings that had strayed everywhere.

It was clear the manager didn’t want to hear anything they had to say, nor did he want their help. “Don’t touch anything! You’ve both done enough! Just you wait until Security gets here!” he shouted. 

Ryan’s stomach started churning at that. He worriedly looked over at his brother, but Trey had an unreadable expression on his face. Just then, two security guards showed up and asked the manager what had happened. 

He pointed to Ryan and Trey, “I want these two out of here! Just look at what they did! It’s going to take all afternoon to clean this mess up!”

One of the guards turned to his partner and told him, “Why don’t you take these two back to the office and get their statements. I’ll stay here and get the details from the manager.”

The other guard nodded and waved the boys forward to head to the security office. As they were walking away, they heard the manager shout, “And you might want to make sure they didn’t steal anything!”

Ryan knew enough to keep his mouth shut, although it took everything he had to do so. He looked at Trey and was a little surprised that he didn’t turn around and say anything. He could tell, though, that Trey’s jaw was tightly clenched. Despite the nervousness he felt, Ryan was very proud of his brother for not turning on the manager. 

Once they made it to the office, the guard that accompanied them ushered them into a small room with a table and a few chairs. It eerily reminded both boys of an interrogation room. They didn’t like it a bit. They both glanced at each other, and they knew what the other was thinking about. 

Once the guard left and closed the door, Ryan dropped his head into his hand, “Damn! Mom and Dad are going to kill us!”

Trey rested a hand on his back. “Now, calm down, little brother. Don’t say a word, and let me handle this. We might be able to keep this from getting too much out of hand.”

The guard came back in with a pad of paper and sat down. He wrote down their names, and other information for his report. Once he was finished with the preliminary information, he said, “Ok. Why don’t you tell me what happened?”

They looked at each other, Trey again silently telling Ryan to remain silent. They both realized that this whole incident was started over a silly, stupid little game. They doubted very much whether this guard was going to believe them. 

Finally, Trey spoke up. “Well, nothing happened really. My brother and I were just walking along, and we bumped into that display. We’re really sorry. Honestly, we didn’t mean to knock anything over, or to cause any damage.” He took a deep breath, and again with clenched teeth, said, “And we certainly didn’t steal anything!” 

He then stood up and emptied his pockets. He looked at Ryan to get him to do the same thing. The guard looked through everything from their pockets: Ryan’s phone, their keys, wallets, and that was pretty much it. Nothing from the store to indicate the manager’s claim they stole anything.

The guard took several more minutes asking them other questions and making notes. After a while, the other guard came into the little interrogation room, and called their guard out so they could confer. 

The longer they stayed out of the room, the more nervous Ryan got. He started bouncing his knee with nervous energy. He then started biting his nails. Trey noticed how his brother was working himself up, and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Ryan suddenly realized what he was doing, folded his hands in his lap, and gave Trey a little self-deprecating smile. 

After a few more minutes, both guards came back into the room. The guard that spoke with the manager spoke first, “Ok. Well, based on eyewitness reports, there’s nothing to corroborate the manager’s claims that either of you stole anything. And based on what you told my partner here, that part of the story matches up.”

The second guard took over. “However, other witnesses report that you weren’t ‘just walking along’ when you knocked the display over.” Both boys immediately looked at each other.

Trey looked at both guards, and sighed, “Yeah, I know. It was stupid, we know that now. I haven’t seen my little brother in a while, and it was a stupid, little game we used to play. We were just having some fun, and it got out of hand. If you let us go, I promise it will never happen again.”

The first guard nodded his head, assuming it may have been something innocent that got out of hand. “Ok. Here’s what we’re going to do. Since nothing illegal took place, we aren’t going to press charges, or anything like that. However, we are going to insist that you not come back for the next 3 months.”

Both Ryan and Trey sighed in relief. 3 months they could live with; as long as they didn’t press charges. Trey responded, eagerly, “Ok. That we can do. We won’t be back for 3 months.”

The second guard asked, “Do you need us to call your parents?”

For the first time, Ryan spoke up, almost too earnestly, “NO! We, uh, parked in the west parking garage.” Ryan tried his best to ignore the glare being sent by his older brother.

“Ok. We’ll just escort you to your car.”

Trey and Ryan were all too eager to get out of that particular situation, as they made their way to the valet to retrieve their car. 

Once they made it out of the parking garage, and back on the road, Ryan said, “Man, am I glad that is over!”

“So am I, little brother. So am I.” He sighed heavily, and continued, “So, what are we going to tell our…., your…., Sandy and Kirsten?” He suddenly found it a little awkward to know how to refer to them. He understood that they were Ryan’s parents now. But what did that make them to him?

Ryan thought about it for a couple of minutes. “You know what…. Let me handle this. I’ll deal with them.”

~~~~~Jump to the next day~~~~~

The car ride home was silent. They had just left the mall, again, under similar circumstances as yesterday. Ryan could tell, even from the back seat behind Trey, that Kirsten was pissed. She was madder than he had seen her in a very long time, especially directed at him. Despite how mad she was, however, he wasn’t all that upset. 

He thought back to how mad both Sandy and Kirsten were during the whole Oliver debacle, and how upset, nervous, and worried he was about, well, everything. He was a little nervous now, but nothing like it was then. Part of him wondered why that was.

As they pulled into the gated community, up the street, and into the driveway, his nervousness did go up a little bit. But again, nothing like Oliver.

He and Trey silently got out of the car, and followed their angry mother to the front door. She opened it, and, as they followed her through, she pointed. “Kitchen! Bar stools! Now! I’m going to go find your father.” 

As they quickly walked into the other room, she shut the door, not very quietly. Yeah, all indications led Ryan to believe that was indeed the maddest she had ever been at him. He didn’t like that he was the one that made her so upset.

As they sat quietly at the kitchen counter, Trey started bouncing his knee. Then, he started to bite his nails. Ryan, however, was simply sitting there, with his hands folded in front of him. 

Finally, Trey asked, “How can you not be nervous? She was so mad. I am so out of here!” He dropped his head into his hands.

Ryan practically rolled his eyes. “They aren’t going to kick you out. Trust me. I’ve messed up worse than this. Yeah, their upset. Yeah, they’ll lecture, maybe yell. They’ll ground us, and then it will be over.”

Trey smiled to himself. He was really starting to see how well his little brother was melding into his new family. He also chuckled to himself about the absurdity of someone trying to ground him. Kirsten had just threatened that very thing earlier in the day, but he never thought it would have ever entered into the realm of possibility.

He was brought out of his musings as he heard Sandy and Kirsten coming down the hall from his study. Kirsten came in with her arms crossed. Ryan and Trey glanced at her, and they could tell that she wasn’t as mad, but she was still pretty upset. Ryan didn’t think Sandy was that mad, but he sure did look serious.

Sandy put the official looking document Kirsten had received from the guards at the mall when they were escorted back to their cars onto the counter. He then addressed the two brothers. “So, your mother tells me you guys had some excitement at the mall today, and yesterday actually. Care to tell us about it?”

Ryan gave his older brother one of his sideways glances, and then started talking, “Look, this is my fault. Trey and I were just horsing around at the mall yesterday. It was all innocent; we didn’t mean to do anything. The guards tried to tell us not to come back for a couple of months. I told Trey not to worry about it, that I would tell you guys. I’m sorry I didn’t; I guess I was just afraid of what would happen with Trey. I just got him back and didn’t want to take the chance of something happening to him. I didn’t really think they would know we were there, and that we would be out of there before anyone in security would see us.”

Sandy and Kirsten looked at each other. As mad as they were at their kids for not telling them about what happened, they could understand maybe why they didn’t say anything. They could understand it a little bit; that doesn’t mean they agreed with it.

Kirsten was the first to speak, “Ok, Ryan, we understand that you are worried about something happening to Trey. But you have to understand that this situation is the very thing that might have caused something to happen to him.”

Sandy continued, “And lying to us is completely unacceptable. I thought we had covered this territory before. We see how this could have started with something very innocent, and we are glad that nothing happened legally. But if you would have told us about this from the very beginning, we could have helped you even more.”

Kirsten moved forward and leaned on the counter, “You should have called us right away, as soon as the guards took you to their offices. Your father or I could have made it up there in less than 15 minutes.”

Both boys nodded their heads solemnly. “I guess we should have. We just weren’t thinking,” Ryan admitted.

Sandy jumped on that immediately, “That’s right. Neither of you were thinking. But you’ll have the next two weeks to think about this and other situations a little better!” 

Trey’s confusion was a little evident on his face, “Two weeks? What’s two weeks?”

Ryan knew it would be something like that, but he wasn’t expecting his outburst of shock, “Two weeks!? But Dad, we were going to go out Monday night to celebrate Trey’s first day on the job!”

Again, Trey asked, “What about two weeks?”

Sandy didn’t mean to outright ignore Trey’s questions, but he wanted to deal with his middle son’s objection. “Well, you should have thought about that earlier. We can still get takeout and have a little celebration here, and when your two weeks are over, you can maybe think about going out then. But Monday night, you’re stuck here.” His eyebrows left no room for negotiation.

“What’s going on for two weeks?” Trey just wanted his question answered. He was so confused.

Ryan turned to his brother and answered him. “Two weeks. We’re grounded for two weeks.”

Trey just kind of blinked a couple of times, mostly out of surprise. “Oh. …..ok.”

Ryan smirked at his brother’s face, “Yeah, that was my reaction the first time, too.”

Sandy and Kirsten wanted to drive home a couple of other points. “Ok, boys,” Kirsten said, to get their attention. “Trey, one of the things that we’ve been trying to teach Ryan is that he doesn’t have to carry the load anymore. That’s what we’re here for. We’re all a family; now the five of us. It might be a little awkward at first, but, just know, that we’re here for you the same way we’re here for Ryan and Seth.” Kirsten could tell the way Trey was shifting in his seat a little bit, one of his other tells, how uncomfortable he was. She decided to hand the reigns to Sandy.

“I just wanted to recap the issues we have with this… little escapade of yours.” He paused and raised his eyebrows to emphasize his point, and Trey couldn’t help but follow them up and realized just how hypnotizing they could be. “Lying is simply inexcusable. One of you should have told us. And Trey, I know Ryan said that he would take care of it, but you still could have told us. Sometimes that’s the responsibility of the older brother. Ryan, you should not have put Trey in that position. And if either one of you would have called us when it first happened, we wouldn’t be where we are right now. And, finally, Trey, this is more of a caution. You have to be more careful in the future. If the mall or the store had wanted to press charges, while it doesn’t sound like it would have gone very far, it could have presented further complication with your probation.”

Sandy and Kirsten watched both boys somewhat sulk into their chairs, as the weight of their little stunt came down on them. They looked at each other and decided to wrap up this little session.

Kirsten went into the other room for a moment, as Sandy said, “Alright, Ryan, give me your phone and keys. You will get them back in two weeks.” With a sigh and a glance at Trey, Ryan stood and fished the requested items out of his pocket, and dropped them into Sandy’s waiting hand.

Kirsten came back into the room with a little gift bag, walked over to stand next to Trey, and set the bag down in front of him. “We were going to give you this later, but this seems a little more appropriate.” When he just kind of looked at the bag, and then back at Sandy and Kirsten, she prodded him, “Go ahead. Look inside.”

He did as instructed, although cautiously. As he saw the bags contents, his mouth opened in surprise. He reached in and pulled out a new phone. Just like the one Ryan had just handed over. As he just looked at the new device, he didn’t really know what to say at the moment.

Finally, his brain caught up with him. “Guys, I can’t accept this. I can’t pay you back, at least for a while.”

Sandy waved off his concern, “Nonsense. You’re family. And even if you weren’t,” there was another one of those eyebrow wags, “the cost of the line is on our family plan, so it’s negligible. You’ll need it to keep in touch and for emergencies.”

Kirsten then took the phone from his hand. “But we’ll be holding on to this for a few days. When you start work on Monday, you can take it with you. But only for emergencies; if you need to call me for anything. You will not use it for anything else. And when we get home, you’ll give it back to me or your father. In two weeks, you’ll get it back to keep, when your brother gets his phone back. Is that clear?” Again, she raised her eyebrows to emphasize her point, but it wasn’t as dramatic as Sandy’s. 

Trey hadn’t missed that Kirsten had referred to Sandy as his father, too. That was weird. It was nice, but weird. From the little bit that he could get Ryan to tell him, Sandy seemed like a pretty good guy, a pretty good father. From what Trey had witnessed first-hand, he seemed to agree with his brother’s assessment. He could probably get used to that; it was allowed to continue.

Both Trey and Ryan nodded at her. Finally, Sandy told them to go to their rooms. Although, Sandy and Kirsten were under no illusions that they were going to stay in their separate rooms. 

Once the boys were out of the kitchen, Sandy pulled Kirsten into his arms and held her tight. Now that she had managed to flush her parental fury, she found that she was shaking a little from the adrenaline. She was glad that she was in the arms of her husband. “I think we got through to them a little,” Sandy said, quietly.

“I hope so”, she responded from somewhere in his chest. Now that she had her three boys, she couldn’t imagine life without any one of them. 

~~~~~End flashback~~~~~

Still smiling, Ryan climbed out of bed. He wanted to see his brother off on his first day. He went into Trey’s room, right next to his. He then plopped down on his brother’s bed. He smiled at the look on Trey’s face, and how he put his arms on his hips.

When Trey told him, “Hey, watch it! I just made that!”, Ryan just had to smirk back. Ryan was even happier when he saw Seth come in, wiping the sleep from his eyes. He knew that Seth, too, wanted to see their brother off. 

He wasn’t really paying any attention to what they were talking about; something about how early it was. He was just happy how both of them were reacting to each other. He was a little worried how Seth would react to another brother in the family. 

When Trey extended his fist to Seth, and called him ‘bro’, Ryan was even more at ease and thrilled at their budding relationship. After Seth left, and Trey was ushering Ryan out the door, he could not get the smile of his face. 

As he walked past Trey, he pulled him into a tight hug. “I’m really proud of you, big brother! And I’m glad you’re here.”

“Thanks, little brother! I’m happy to be back in your life. And I’m not blowing this chance the Cohens are giving me. I want to do better.”

As Trey shut his door and headed downstairs to their waiting mother, he went back into his room. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to go back to sleep. He was much too happy with his life right now. Ok, so maybe this grounding wasn’t going to be so bad. He had his family there with him!


	5. Chapter 5

It had been a few months since the whole mall episode. Ryan and Trey had long since been ungrounded. All three boys had gone out and celebrated Trey’s job at the Newport Group. He was really enjoying the overall experience. Some of the departments he liked more than others, but he still appreciated the knowledge he was gaining. 

He never thought he would be enjoying working, but he was. He periodically had to pinch himself to make sure this wasn’t dreaming. If he had been dreaming, though, he would have thought one particular Saturday was a nightmare.

This one Saturday in question started out like many others: a lazy start, the whole family spending it somewhat together (or at least everyone was at home). It was late in the morning; Ryan and Seth had just gotten up not long before. They were enjoying a leisurely PlayStation battle, when the doorbell rang. Trey was already coming down the stairs and called out, “I’ve got it!”

As he opened the door, his demeanor got a whole lot worse. He had just gotten up himself, and was no longer looking forward to the rest of the day. “Oh, God! What are you doing here?!”

While he didn’t shout the exclamation, Ryan heard it nonetheless and was immediately on alert. He didn’t know necessarily who was at the door, but he knew it couldn’t be good. His head snapped in the direction of the front door, while simultaneously hitting pause on his controller.

Seth wasn’t too keen on that. “Hey! What’s the dealio! Just when I’m winning you decide to ‘act’ distracted to throw me off!” His indignation was gone in an instant when he saw Ryan’s posture; he then started getting a little nervous himself.

Quietly, without taking his eyes away from the direction of the foyer, he told Seth, “Quick! Go get Mom and Dad!”

Seth stood, to emphasize the point the he did not like not knowing what was going on. “What? Why? Ry, what’s going on?”

Standing himself and turning to look at him, Seth didn’t like the look of fear in Ryan’s face. Urgently, Ryan told him, “Seth, just go! In fact, go to their patio door by the pool; it will be quicker.” 

Seth still didn’t understand. “But, why? Who’s at the door?!”

Ryan practically started pushing Seth towards the back door. “Seth, I don’t know. I just know we need Mom and Dad in here now! And I don’t really want whoever’s there to know we’re here!”

Suddenly, the light went on for Seth. “I get it now! Stealth! We need stealth! This I got. Remember: Camp Takaho Capture the Flag All Time Champ! Mom and Dad will be here before you know it”, then stage whispering and pointing to the foyer, “and you-know-who will never know I was here!” Under different circumstances, Ryan would have grinned at Seth’s over-reaction. But this was no laughing matter.

Now, with Seth out of the way for a few minutes on a mission of his own, he slowly made his way down the hallway towards the front door. His first glimpse of the front door didn’t reveal who was outside standing on the front porch, but he could see Trey; his arms were crossed in front of his chest and his posture shouted ‘DANGER’! The nervousness in his stomach just went up a notch.

As he walked further into the foyer, he was able to see fully who was at the door, and knew that Trey’s reaction was completely and wholeheartedly warranted: Dawn! He knew he would have to deal with her, but he had kept wishing the day would be put off. He still wasn’t ready to deal with how he felt about her, and the multiple times she had abandoned him. And based on Trey’s stalwart position at the front door, he knew that Trey had felt the same way.

While his brain was telling him to run away, upstairs to his room, his legs just wouldn’t move. He could hear them talking but his brain wasn’t registering what they were saying, as though his head was wrapped in cotton. 

Then, Ryan’s heart started beating faster when Dawn shifted her focus from Trey to him. “Ryan, baby! I’m so happy to see you!”

Trey whipped around and when he saw the fear on his brother’s face, his heart broke for him. He was standing in front of Ryan in an instant, with his hands on his shoulders trying to provide a connection which would ground him. When Ryan continued staring at Dawn with that look of terror, he shifted so that he was in his direct line of vision, blocking out the cause of his brother’s current state.

He quietly tried to calm Ryan, “Hey, little brother. How you doing?” When he didn’t get a response, he tried again a little more forcefully. “Hey, LB, where’s Mom and Dad?”

Just then, as if on cue, Sandy and Kirsten came rushing down the hall and around the corner. “We’re right here. What’s going on?” 

Trey had pointed at the door, and Sandy, too, thought this day was going to get a whole lot worse. He moved further into the foyer and towards the front door, in full lawyer mode. Rather pointedly, he asked, “Dawn! What are you doing here?”

Meanwhile, Kirsten saw Ryan’s ashen face and was immediately on alert. She took hold of his arm and gently started making circles on his back, in a soothing motion. Suddenly, Ryan turned and grabbed hold of Kirsten, almost in a stranglehold. Kirsten was startled for only a moment, but quickly embraced her blond-haired son as tightly as she could. She kept running a soothing hand over the back of his head, which kept it on her shoulder. She was whispering softly into the back of his head. 

Though rare, she enjoyed these opportunities to comfort her children. She remembered being able to comfort Seth more often when he was younger. As he got older, of course those times became fewer and farther between. When Ryan came into their home and family, there were only a handful of times where he allowed her to comfort him. She hoped that if Trey ever needed her comforting touch, he would allow it.

When Trey heard Dawn’s response to Sandy’s question, he nearly lost his tentative grasp on his emotions. She had the audacity to show up, out of the blue, “wanting to just see her boys”, as she put it. Well, after seeing how her visit affected his new family, he had had enough of her involvement in their lives. 

Trey strode up and stood next to Sandy and beat him to the punch. “No! We’re done.” Trey wasn’t allowing the hurt in Dawn’s eyes affect him this time. Pointing at his both of his brothers, one of whom was still buried in their mothers embrace and the other uncharacteristically quiet in the background with wide eyes, he said, “Look at what happens when you show up! Today was supposed to be a good day. I’m not going to let you screw us up anymore!”

Dawn started crying, “But, you’re my boys!”

Trey jumped on that immediately. “No, we’re not! Not anymore, at least.” Pointing to Kirsten still cradling and soothing Ryan, he said, “That’s what parents do, Dawn! They support their kids. Ever since I’ve been out of prison and staying here, these two have been better parents to me then you and Frank ever were. A couple of months ago, Ryan and I got into what could have been some serious trouble at the mall. We weren’t kicked out. We weren’t beaten. We got a lecture about making better decisions, and then we were grounded. Something else real parents do; they help their kids to make better decisions without abandoning them at the drop of a hat.”

Trey took a deep breath before continuing. He called to Ryan to get his attention. While he turned his head to look at him, Ryan never moved to leave Kirsten’s embrace. “Ryan, I want you to listen to this, too.” He then turned his attention back to Dawn. “The last couple of months, I’ve seriously been thinking about something, and have periodically been asking Sandy questions about it. And this whole situation just clinched it. Ever since I’ve gotten here, I can see how close this family is; how Sandy and Kirsten love and care for Ryan, and Seth. And the last few months, I’ve even felt it myself.” He then turned and faced, what in his mind had become his new family. 

“Ryan, I’ve reached a decision that will directly affect you, but I don’t think you’ll object; it’s really more of a formality. Like I said, I’ve seen that Sandy and Kirsten have become your parents.” He took another deep breath before dropping the bombshell, especially on Dawn. “Sandy and Kirsten, I would like you to adopt us.”

Dawn was furious now. “What?! You ungrateful, little –“

Before she could finish that statement, Sandy stepped in-between Trey and Dawn, and with righteous, parental fury, told her, “Careful, Dawn! That’s now my son you’re talking to!”

She tried to match his fury, but failed. “But they’re my kids!”

“Not anymore!” Sandy fired back. “You’ll be hearing from our attorney.” And with that, he shut the door on Dawn, hopefully for the final time. Sandy wasn’t going to allow her to upset any of his sons, or anyone else in his family.

While Sandy was cutting Dawn out of his life, Ryan had managed to disentangle himself from Kirsten, but she kept a comforting hand on his back. “Trey, are you serious?!” Ryan asked, quietly.

“Dude, I’ve told you before: These are your parents in spirit. May as well make in fact, too.” Trey then turned to his other brother, “Seth, is this OK with you?”

Ever since Trey had revealed his little surprise, he had a grin on his face. And when his, no _their_ father, closed the door on Dawn, his grin turned into a big, goofy, tooth-filled smile. “Dude, of course it’s ok. In fact, this is awesome! I think I’ve said this before, but I’ve always wanted a brother, and now I have two! And what’s better, an older brother to teach me all kinds of cool stuff!”

Trey couldn’t help but grin back at Seth’s excitement. “And what exactly would I be teaching you?”

Joining in the fun, Kirsten put her hands on her hips in mock seriousness, “Yes, Seth, pray tell, what would that be?”

Sandy raised his eyebrows, as well, expecting an answer.

Looking at their parents, Seth thought better of answering that question in their presence. “Um, never mind about that.” Then in a stage whisper directed at Trey, “We’ll talk later.”

Sandy and Kirsten chuckled at their dark-haired son’s antics. Kirsten then turned her attention back to Ryan, putting a hand on his back again. “How are you doing, sweetheart?” She could still feel him shaking a little bit.

“I think I’m ok. Or, at least I will be.” Looking at both Sandy and Kirsten, he told them, “Trey’s right, though. You guys have been my parents for a while now, and you always will be. And like he said, may as well make it official.” He gave them a sheepish grin.

Sandy couldn’t help it anymore and, as best he could, pulled all three of his children and wife into a big family hug.

Even before he and Kirsten had gotten married, he had always wanted a large family. After Seth was born, however, life got in the way. They had to move from Berkley to Newport when Kirsten’s mother had gotten sick, and time got even scarcer. It was only by chance that Ryan came along and became their second son. He never would have thought that Ryan’s older brother would come along and become his third son, but here he was. 

He couldn’t be happier! Who knew what the future would hold for his family!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chronologically, this would take place a few months after Kirsten and Sandy’s anniversary, when the boys got in trouble. There will be minor references to that episode.  
> I’m pretty sure that Ryan’s middle name is Francis. I don’t recall it ever being said, but I just can’t seem to write that in my stories; Francis just doesn’t seem to fit with Ryan’s character. I know it would make sense with his biological father’s name being Frank, but still… Therefore, I’m invoking creative license in changing his name to Ryan James. One of the nice parts about writing your own stories!

It was well past midnight; 12:45am to be precise. More then 45 minutes past the boys’ weekend curfew. Sandy was pacing in the sun room, just off the foyer. He knew Seth and Ryan had to come through the front door and wanted to catch them red-handed. 

Kirsten had tried to go to bed a couple of hours ago but couldn’t sleep. She had decided to get up and keep her husband company. The later they were out, the more worried and upset she could tell Sandy was getting. Well, so was she. She made some tea, hoping it would help, but it didn’t.

Finally, they could see the headlights of the Rover pull into the driveway. Sandy stopped pacing and glanced to his wife with a look of relief she shared. Then they both moved to just the bottom of the foyer steps and put their hands on their hips. Now that their boys were home, the relief was replaced with righteous parental anger at their children.

A couple of minutes later the front door creaked open, and a body tried to stealthily enter the house. His torso was angled behind him with a finger up to his lips, shushing his companion. Under different circumstances, Sandy and Kirsten may have found this particular entry amusing. However, it is relatively safe to say that they were not amused.

“Seth Ezekiel!” Seth was startled by the sudden reprimand and skidded to a halt, causing Ryan to crash into his back. “Ryan James! Do either of you have any idea what time it is?!” Sandy was even a little startled that Kirsten beat him to that punch. 

But he was not going to be out done! “Kitchen! Now!” He simply said while pointing in the direction of the kitchen.

Seth and Ryan looked at each other with a worried glance and then followed their irate parents into the kitchen. They were a little surprised when Sandy and Kirsten took their seats at the table. Usually, their lectures took place on the stools. They spared each other a glance as Ryan sat down across from Sandy and Seth across from Kirsten. Both boys kept silent while staring at their hands folded in front of them on the table.

Sandy took a couple of breaths to remain calm. “So, 45 minutes late. Who wants to go first?”

Both boys glanced at each other again and they could tell Ryan was willing Seth to speak for them. Finally, Seth looked up, “Ok, now I know you’re not going to believe me, but…”

Kirsten was all too familiar with this tactic and cut him off, “Yeah, we know. You guys got lost. With GPS in the car and on your phones.” Her face made it plain that they weren’t falling for it this time. 

Seth turned to Ryan and said, “OK, she’s good. Tag out; you’re in.”

Ryan slowly turned to Seth and glared at him. As a result, Seth just slumped further into his seat. He wasn’t quite sure who to be afraid of more: Ryan or their parents.

Ryan turned back to Sandy and Kirsten, with what he was hoping was an apology on his face, “Look, I’m sorry we’re late. We have no excuse. So whatever punishment you come up with is fine with us.” He was a little surprised Seth simply nodded in agreement.

Sandy just shook his head a bit and looked at Kirsten for a moment. He told them, “Well, guys, we’ve kind of heard that story before. But nothing has really changed. I don’t think we can take that line anymore.”

Kirsten tagged in, “We want to know what’s going on with you guys. We know you’ve been sneaking out at night, staying out way past curfew, obviously”, and she indicated them sitting at the table to emphasize her last point.

Sandy and Kirsten waited a couple of moments for the boys to respond. Ryan shrugged his shoulders a bit, “I don’t really know why; there are just some parties that we wanted to go to.” Seth pointed at Ryan and nodded his head in agreement.

“Well, I’m sorry guys”, Sandy started, “but ‘I don’t know’ isn’t going to cut it this time. We need actual reasons on why you two keep going behind our backs.”

Ryan felt even worse at that comment and sensing some hurt even in his father’s words. He hadn’t really seen what he was doing that hurtful to his parents.

Sandy took a deep breath and dove into his next question. “So, is this part of Trey’s influence?” He was met with a shocked “Sandy!” from Kirsten and a simultaneous “Dad!” from Seth. Ryan just kept his gaze on his hands folded in his lap, and his cheeks flushed a deep red.

Seth tried to defend both of his brothers, furrowing his own brows to emphasize his point. “No, Dad! This has nothing to do with Trey. In fact, I’ve begged him several times to take me to Chino to show me his old stomping grounds, and he’s refused. He doesn’t want anything to do with Chino or his old life.” 

Seth glanced at Ryan and saw him give one of his side glances to let him know he was interested in what Seth was saying. Seth turned back to their father, “Let me tell you, Dad. Just like Ryan, Trey is a Cohen now; he’s one of us.” He finished by looking at Ryan, and their eyes met. Seth took the look in Ryan’s eyes as gratitude for that tidbit of information.

Sandy was happy to hear that, as well. And under different circumstances, he would be ecstatic and be ready to celebrate. However, with the current circumstances being that he was yelling at his kids, celebrating would have to wait. 

As it was, he currently felt like a heel for doubting his now oldest son. He looked at his family present, “Kirsten, Seth, and Ryan”, he had to repeat his youngest’s name to get his attention. “Ryan.” When he got the kid to look at him, “Guys, I’m sorry for doubting Trey. I didn’t think that would be the case, but the lawyer in me had to ask. Seth, thank you for sharing that little tidbit with us.”

Sandy took a moment to consider things and looked at his wife to try and figure out how best to proceed. Both boys looked a little glum to be once again in trouble. Before they could discuss things very much farther, he could hear Trey coming down the stairs. A couple of seconds later, Trey entered the kitchen in his pajamas trying to wipe the sleep out of his eyes. He went to open the refrigerator. When he saw everyone sitting at the table, he froze a little, now fully awake.

He could tell Sandy and Kirsten were in parent-mode, and it made him more than a little uncomfortable. Trey never really put any stock in family growing up. He could tell even at an early age that Dawn and Frank were never really cut out to do the whole parenting thing. Still, he loved his little brother and tried to care for him the best he could. However, he was young and, well, stupid. The lack of real parents, and the frustration that brought, developed in Trey a problem with authority. And that aversion to authority only led to further troubles, obviously given their current living situation. 

While Trey wasn’t pleased with certain aspects of his past, he was somewhat grateful for where some of that past had brought him and his brother. He was eternally grateful for the parents that his actions had inadvertently given to his little brother. And, since he had been welcomed into the Cohen household as a fully-fledged member of the family, especially since the adoption, he’d even felt the effect of real parents himself. He may not have been able to put a name to it consciously, but he certainly had felt it on a few occasions. 

Sandy called him back to the present by waving him over, “Grab something to drink, and come join us. Let’s make this a whole family discussion.” Trey’s stomach was starting to knot up, not knowing what was going to be discussed. Was he in trouble over something? He grabbed a bottle of water and then headed over to the table and sat at the end of the table next to Seth and Kirsten. He kept his eyes trained on the bottle in front of him and waited.

As Kirsten watched the newest addition to her family, she was struck by how much she reminded him of her second child, especially during those first couple of months. Ryan had been so guarded, so cautious, never knowing if something he said or did might upset the delicate balance of the household, even if the precarious situation existed only in his mind. While Trey may not carry the weight of the world on his shoulder as Ryan had, he was still very careful not to rattle any cages or upset anyone with forcing his preference. She felt she had to do something to try to ease him into the conversation a little easier.

Kirsten leaned forward slightly to try to bring herself into Trey’s line of vision. “Honey, we were just talking with your brothers about some of their…,” she paused a moment to come up with the right word, “excursions recently. Behavior that I thought we dealt with months ago.”

Sandy saw all three boys glance at each other, so he felt the need to remind Seth and Ryan and bring Trey up to speed. “You remember, don’t you, fellas? See, Trey, Ryan felt it was a good idea to go behind our backs and date your mother’s half-sister.” Trey simply glanced at his little brother, and Sandy could have sworn he saw a glimpse of a smirk on his face for a split second. Seth’s reaction was a little chuckle that came out like a snort.

Sandy then turned his attention to the other child in his cross-hairs. “Oh, we haven’t forgotten about you, buddy! Lying; sneaking out of your bedroom window to spend the night with your girlfriend, while you were already grounded, by the way; stealing your grandfather’s car!” That got more of a reaction from Trey; he looked up at Seth with wide eyes for a couple of seconds. 

The thought of someone, who he now considered his brother, stealing someone else’s car, albeit a family member’s, and they were simply grounded for it, surprised him more than anything! It was pretty much the same actions that got his little brother and he arrested and kicked out of the house. Just one more piece of evidence to show the chasm that separated his old life with his new one.

Seth caught Trey’s reaction out of the corner of his eyes and was surprised a bit by it. It took him just a few moments to realize the cause. Almost the same thing got both of his brothers in serious trouble with the law, and he did it without a second thought; just to kind of stick it to his parents. A whole new pang of guilt ran through Seth, and he hung his head a little more in shame. He didn’t think that he could feel guiltier over something that happened months ago.

Sandy startled Trey a bit with his next question, “Trey, did you know about your brothers sneaking out?” While Sandy’s gaze wasn’t oppressive, it was stern, almost authoritarian. “And remember, I was a public defender for many years, I’ve been lied to by the best. Not to mention your brothers here.”

After Trey made eye contact with Sandy, he had the look of a deer caught in headlights. He gulped hard a couple of times. He didn’t quite know how to answer. He had tried to stay out of trouble since moving in with the Cohens, but there were the smaller incidental things, like the whole mall episode. But this seemed so much larger than anything else. 

Trey could only keep eye contact with Sandy for just a moment or two before dropping his gaze to the table. He glanced over at Seth and Ryan, who also avoided eye contact. Finally, he nodded his head a little, “Um, yeah, I did. I went to go pick them up a couple of times, so they didn’t have to worry about finding a way home that late.”

Directing his attention to all three of his boys, “So, then, were there drugs and alcohol at these parties?”

Seth was the one to answer, “Mostly it was alcohol. I never do drugs, though. Maybe a couple of times, I had a beer. When Ryan would come, he wouldn’t drink anything.” He said it quietly and directed his answer to the table. He felt miserable. He forced himself to glance at Ryan and Trey to try to judge how mad they were at him.

All the while, Kirsten watched all her boys react to each other. It suddenly dawned on her just how much the dynamics of her family had changed since Trey joined the family. Because of Sandy’s inappropriate question earlier regarding Trey’s influence, Kirsten realized that it had the opposite effect. Trey’s very presence could help to strengthen the bonds of her family. And she wasn’t going to squander that opportunity.

Kirsten leaned forward on the table and turned her attention to Trey. “Honey, I realize that you might not have had the best experiences with how some families operate. But, one of the reasons why I think…” she paused a moment, turned to Sandy and put her hand over his, “No, let me change that, why _we_ think we have such a strong family is because we communicate; we talk about things.”

Ryan couldn’t help but mutter, “Got that right!” Although it was a little louder then he intended and noticed right away that he’d been heard.

Sandy lifted his eyebrows to their full height (which was impressive), pointed at him, and said, “Watch it, kid. You’re already in enough trouble as it is!”

Ryan looked up at him through his lashes penitently and nodded, “Yeah. Sorry.”

Kirsten turned her attention back to Trey, “I know that your relationship with your brothers is important to you.” Indicating all three boys, “I’m continually amazed at the bond between each of you. It’s much stronger and closer than most siblings. Certainly, stronger than anything Hailey and I enjoyed.”

Sandy added, to back up his wife, “And definitely better than my relationship with my brother and sister.”

Kirsten gave Sandy a sad smile and patted his hand to reassure him; she knew how much it pained him to talk about his siblings from whom he had drifted away so long ago.

Kirsten forced herself back to the situation at hand. She reached out and placed a hand on Trey’s to emphasize her point, “Sweetie, we would never expect you to betray the confidence of your brothers, but if you know they are doing something dangerous or illegal, you really do need to come to us. In fact, if you notice _anyone_ doing something like that, please say something. OK?”

It took Trey a couple of moments to process everything Kirsten had just told him. She expected him to do that? His past was a little at odds with all this new information because he was always taught to keep his mouth shut. Never talk about what you see; it only leads to pain, either physical or emotional. But, as Trey looked around the table at his new family, especially with Kirsten’s hand still on his and her reassuring smile and realized that this was more important than what he had learned from his old family. 

He nodded his acceptance and understanding, “Ok. I will from now on. I promise.” 

Sandy picked it up from there, “Great! Now, on to the sentencing phase.” He noticed that Seth and Ryan became a little more restless in their seats at this point. “Seth, Ryan, since we already covered this topic a few months ago, you’re both grounded for a month.”

At that, Ryan couldn’t hold his tongue. “A month! Seriously!” He started sputtering a little bit, not sure if he should try to argue the sentence or bring up the fact that it was Seth who snuck out almost twice as much as he did. Everyone at the table knew he wanted to say something regarding Seth’s involvement, but everyone also knew he wouldn’t. Finally, Ryan reached into the pocket of his jeans and threw his cellphone on the table. “Fine!” was all he said. But he crossed his arms in front of his chest and sent one of the mightiest death glares in the direction of the brother closest to him.

Kirsten turned to her husband and quietly asked, “Can I speak to you outside for a moment?”

Sandy turned to her and could see in her eyes that she wasn’t particularly in agreement with that, so he nodded his head. As they rose from their seats, he looked at each of his boys in turn, “Do not move. We’ll be right out those doors and will be watching you!”

As soon as the door was shut with Sandy and Kirsten on the other side, Trey harshly whispered to his blond brother, “What are you doing?! They’re already pissed! Are you trying to make it worse?”

Ryan finally broke his death glare with Seth and turned to look at Trey with a look of slight exasperation. “Come on, Trey. We’ve been through this before. Yeah, they’re pissed. They’ve already kind of yelled and lectured. They’ve already grounded us,” and sent another withering glare in Seth’s direction. Turning back to Trey, he continued, “They may come back in and lecture some more, maybe yell some more, but that’ll be it.”

All the while, Seth was abnormally quiet, and even in the short time Trey had been living with the Cohens, he could tell Seth was really feeling guilty. He was just about to talk to him about it when their parents came back into the house and sat back down.

Before either one of them could continue with the lecture, Seth spoke up, “I’m sorry, you guys. This is all my fault. Ryan shouldn’t get the same punishment that I get. He only came with me a few times, and he even tried to talk me out of going sometimes, but I didn’t listen to him. I’m really sorry for sneaking out. I don’t know why I was doing it, but I promise not to anymore.”

After listening to Seth, Ryan uncrossed his arms and sat up a little bit more in his chair. It seemed with Seth’s admission, he was already ready to forgive him and move on.

Honestly, Sandy and Kirsten weren’t all that surprised by Seth’s confession. It was normally Seth that came up with their kids hair-brained schemes; Ryan often enough was simply following along. They were happy to hear that Ryan was actually starting to stand up to Seth. They also were pretty sure that that was the case when Ryan was sputtering earlier and was maybe about to tell them. They looked at each other to confirm what each other was thinking. 

Kirsten spoke first, “Well, thank you for that admission. Although, remember, as the parents, we hand out your punishments.” 

Trey blushed a little when Kirsten turned and included him in that line about handing out punishments. There were a few times where he thought it was a little weird that he could still be grounded; he was after all in his 20s. At the same time, however, he relished the thought of being part of a real family and was willing to accept everything that came along with that; even the indignity of being grounded like his 17-year-old brothers.

Sandy then continued, “Yeah, Seth we kind of figured something like that. So, here’s what we’re going to do. Ryan, although you still snuck out, you still stayed at home like you were supposed to most times, and even tried to talk some sense into your brother, we’re reducing your sentence to two weeks. Seth, you’re still grounded for a month. And we expect you to live up to your promise about not sneaking out any more.”

Sandy then turned to Trey, who started really getting nervous when the older-man made eye contact with him. Was he in trouble, too? He gulped and averted his eyes, returning them to his unopened bottle of water. 

Sandy called his name to get his attention, “Trey.” When his older son finally made eye contact with him, Sandy told him, “I hope you really listened to your mother when she told you to come to us when you see or hear someone doing something dangerous or illegal.”

Trey glanced at Kirsten when Sandy called her his mother. He smiled inside when he realized that they had been referring to each other as his parents during the whole conversation. He was a little surprised to realize that he was happy at that. Trey jumped a little bit when Sandy cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows, indicating that he was expecting some type of response.

He kind of stumbled out a response, “Yeah, of course. I promise.”

Sandy nodded his head and a small smile spread across his face. “Good.” He softened his voice a little to ease up on his ‘Father’ voice, “You know, I’m going to tell you the same thing I told your brother when he became a member of our family, a couple of months after moving in with us. You don’t have to be the parent anymore.” Sandy put his arm around Kirsten’s waist and pulled her close to kiss her temple, and then told him, “That’s what we’re here for!” Sandy held Trey’s eye contact for a few seconds to emphasize his point.

When Trey finally looked back down at his water bottle and started to play with the label, pulling it off, Sandy got his attention again, “Now, finally for you, Trey.” Sandy paused until the boy looked up at him with wide eyes. 

_“Oh, crap! I am in trouble!”_ Trey thought.

Sandy cleared his throat, almost ominously, “While you aren’t grounded, you may still want to stick around the house for the weekend to help keep these little hooligans busy.” With a smile, he looked at his two youngest and said, “You have no idea what they can get into when they don’t have their video games!”

Both Kirsten and Sandy laced their fingers together under the table and smiled even deeper when Seth’s eyes got wide and replied with “Hooligans!” and Ryan countered “Little!” at the same time in mock anger. 

Even Trey started laughing, being so relieved that he wasn’t really in any more trouble. As he saw his first real serious family discussion come to an end, he was still amazed at how different this family was with his past. And how incredibly happy he was that they were _his_ family!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was somewhat inspired by a few other stories around where Ryan’s concern for Dawn continues to surface. While he is very happy being a Cohen, his character and concern for others are his strong points; and possibly one of his weaknesses. I hope that I can adequately portray this, but Ryan does consider himself a Cohen through and through, and Kirsten and Sandy are his parents.  
> I also want to emphasize, if there are still any readers out there following this story, and I hope I have made this abundantly clear, that this Trey is very much different from the one we saw on screen. Whereas that Trey was rough and had a problem with authority and such, this Trey has definitely changed. He is a brother worthy, not only of Ryan, but also of Seth.   
> So, here’s another installment of The Brothers. There will be references to chapters 3 & 4 here, and the whole mall incident. Let me know what you guys think!

It was morning when Ryan started to rouse from his sleep. Or rather, something was rousing him from sleep. As he finally opened his eyes and glanced at the clock on his bedside table, he saw that it was about half past 8am. He was a little surprised. While he always looked for opportunities where he could sleep in, especially during the week instead of having to get up for school, one of his brothers always managed to get him up much sooner than he was ready.

Today, however, he found that he was able to sleep much later then he thought he would. As he continued to lay in bed, he continued to hear the noise that brought him from his slumber. He realized that it was Seth as he was getting ready for his day.

It was a Friday, and they had the day off for a faculty planning day. So, he was able to sleep in, while his older brother and mother were at work. Their father was at the office. His curly-haired brother was spending the day with Summer, who had everything planned out. While he loved his brother and loved spending time with him, he did have his limits. And those limits consisted of Summer’s plans to spend the morning at the spa and the afternoon at South Coast Plaza. While Summer was kind enough to invite him, as Seth had told her his brother had no plans, again his love for his brother had limits. 

He smiled while laying contentedly in his bed listening to Seth’s side of his phone call with an apparently irate Summer that Seth was still at home and hadn’t even left. He could barely get a word in edgewise and his voice continued to get louder and higher pitched. Finally, after promising to leave “right this instant”, he was able to hang up. 

Ryan threw the covers off himself and got out of bed, stretching as he made his way to the hallway. He and Seth made it there at the same time. When Seth saw him, his eyes and smile grew to comic proportions. “It lives!” he teased. Pointing to Ryan’s head, his brother continued, “Dude, bed head much?!”

Ryan was in a pretty good mood, after being able to sleep in a little bit, not to mention surrounded by this great family. Sometimes he still had to pinch himself to make sure that he had great parents and a couple of awesome brothers; he couldn’t at times believe that his older brother was back in his life, was doing well, and was legally a Cohen like him. He could take a little teasing from Seth, because he could give it back just as good!

Ryan just smiled back, “Well, at least I’m not going to spend the whole day wrapped in a salad!”

Seth just made a face, which almost looked like a wince at that thought, but replied, “Not the whole day, bro.” After a beat, and making another face, “Just for the morning.”

“Ahh, ok. Well, have fun carrying all of Summer’s bags and packages this afternoon,” Ryan chuckled with a smirk.

“Crap, I forgot all about that! Well, most of the stores at South Coast Plaza will take them to Summer’s car, so I don’t have to worry about that. Say, you can still come with us, if you want?” Seth asked. But after a beat, continued, “Oh, but you can’t yet, can you? Security won’t let you back in, yet. Will they?” He copied Ryan’s smirk.

Ryan never really understood the fascination some people had with the mall. He only really went with other people. When he had to go shopping, he normally just wanted to buy what he needed and get out. But he found that Summer, Marissa, nor his mother were like that. Ryan just confidently leaned against the door frame, crossed his arms, and smiled back at Seth. “Nah, I don’t need anything at the mall. I guess I’ll have to enjoy a day at home _all by myself_. With exclusive use of the PlayStation all day!”

He laughed at his brothers face when Seth realized what Ryan’s plans were. Nothing; he planned to do nothing all day! Seth’s smirk faded and was replaced by jealousy. He would have loved to stay home and do nothing, as well.

Ryan just sort of waved at him, “Ok. Bye bye. I know that Summer is waiting for you. You don’t want her to have one of her rage blackouts on you, do you?” Ryan laughed even harder at the look on Seth’s face. He felt a little guilty teasing Seth like that, but just a little, a very little. 

Seth just slowly turned around and sulked down the stairs. He was torn: jealousy towards Ryan and his plans for the day, and fear at Summer’s possible rage blackout. His fear of Summer finally won out as he walked out the front door to spend the day with his girlfriend. 

Ryan continued chuckling lightly as Seth made his way down the stairs. Shaking his head at his brother’s antics, he made his way back into his room and changed into a pair of gym shorts and t-shirt. He then made his way downstairs and through the kitchen. He stopped and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and then through the French doors towards the pool house. Since both Ryan and Trey had moved into the main house for good, Sandy and Kirsten decided to convert the pool house into a mini gym. 

Several months earlier during one of the family dinners, Sandy and Kirsten had mentioned their desire to want to do something else with the pool house, since they weren’t using it as a living space anymore. Seth had immediately wanted to convert it into a theatre of sorts, with couches and a massive video screen. He insisted they needed a much better place to hold Cohen Movie Night, and it would be an awesome place to play video games. 

Sandy and Kirsten were pretty sure that Seth was going to suggest that idea, and they weren’t exactly opposed to the idea. Ryan then suggested turning it into a small gym, with maybe a treadmill and free weights. The Cohen adults noticed that, while Trey didn’t say anything, he seemed to really perk up at the idea.

The family spent the rest of the night debating the merits of both ideas. Both parents were pleased when Trey actually participated and threw out a few points in favor of the mini gym. Finally, after the kitchen was cleaned up and the food was put away, Sandy told his boys that they would discuss it further and announce their decision the next day at breakfast. 

Seth was nearly speechless and sputtering his protestations when their father announced the next morning that they would be converting the pool house into a gym. He tried to calm Seth down by explaining that they would also be installing multiple large screen TV’s so that Seth could still hang out there with his video games. He wasn’t exactly thrilled but realized there was little he could do to change their parent’s minds.

While the former Atwood brothers were doing much better with their tempers and anger issues, their parents still thought it was a good idea to provide an outlet for when their stress and frustration levels started to rise. 

There were many weekend mornings, and some evenings that Trey and Ryan could be found in the new pool house helping each other work out. Sandy and Kirsten even found themselves using the equipment from time to time. Seth absolutely refused to use any of the equipment. The only time he would venture inside was after Seth pestered Ryan, or even Trey, to put some brotherly time on the books, but they were insistent on working out while he played video games. It wasn’t exactly his ideal bonding session, but it was still Seth/Ryan or Seth/Trey time.

Ryan walked into his former room, still practically not recognizing it. He also was still amazed at what his family could do sometimes. Sandy and Kirsten made sure to install the latest equipment: a treadmill, stationary bike, stair climber, a huge selection of free weights, and various models of training machines. That didn’t include the entertainment system that had been installed. Nearly any type of video, TV, and music was available.

Ryan spent an hour or so working out on some of the various pieces of equipment. When he was finished, he thought about jumping into the pool to cool off and relax a little bit floating around. However, since it was still early March, the temperature was still only in the 60s. Despite the pool being ready to be used, when he tried to get in a couple of weeks ago, Kirsten nearly read him the riot act. She was not about to watch him get a cold because he decided to jump in the pool to cool off. She even threatened him that if he did it again, she would ground him from the pool house for a while. With that threat still in the air, despite her not being home, he didn’t want to risk it.

Instead, he just went up to his room to shower and dress for a nice, relaxing day at home. He didn’t have much homework and didn’t feel like working on it at the moment. He did have some reading that he needed to get done, so he laid on his bed and read for a little while. Pretty soon, his stomach told him that he needed to get something to eat.

He ventured downstairs to the kitchen and looked through the fridge. After not finding anything that looked very appetizing, he decided to place an order for pizza. After he ate, he decided to play some video games. While he was playing, his cell phone rang. When he fished it out of his pocket, he saw that Dawn was calling, and instantly his day got worse. He did not want to talk with her, so he just stared at the ringing phone in one hand and the paused game controller in the other.

After a few rings, the phone finally silenced itself. A few moments later, it chirped to alert him of a voice mail. He continued to stare at the phone for some time. Eventually, it rang again; this time pulling Ryan out of his daze. He saw that it was Seth calling, and answered it.

“Hello?”, Ryan greeted in a much more muted tone then earlier that morning.

“Hey, Ryan. Summer let me duck into the comic bookstore for a minute. I wanted to see if there was anything you wanted me to pick you up?”

“No,” was Ryan’s one-word reply.

Seth noticed that his brother’s attitude was a lot different than when he saw him earlier. It was rare nowadays for Ryan’s disposition to be so low, but Seth couldn’t quite put his finger on what exactly was wrong. 

“Ryan, is everything ok?” Seth asked.

“Yeah, fine,” Ryan nearly whispered. Ryan was barely following the conversation; his mind couldn’t really focus on anything, even the conversation currently taking place. However, he did realize that his brother’s voice was warming a cold knot in his stomach that he didn’t even realize was frozen. He tried to shake some of the haze from his brain a little. “I mean, everything’s good. Thanks, Seth for calling.”

Seth couldn’t tell for sure, but it sounded like Ryan was almost trying to get off the phone. An awkward silence descended over the two brothers, and finally Seth said, “Ok. Well, I’ll let you go. I’ll see you later, bro.”

“Ok. See ya,” was Ryan’s quiet response. However, there was a hint of a smile on his face. Man, was he glad for his family!

After Seth hung up, he just glanced at his phone for a moment or two. He couldn’t shake this feeling in his stomach that something was up with Ryan. _Yeah, he could be moody at times, but this was really weird,_ he thought to himself. He made his way outside the comic bookstore on one of the benches, and just sat there in thought. He didn’t notice Summer when she came out of the store next door.

Summer looked around quickly and when she noticed he was just sitting on the bench; she rolled her eyes and strode over to him. She was going to give it to him for not meeting up with her, but as she got closer, she noticed he was upset about something. She noticed he was biting his thumbnail and his leg was bouncing up and down. She sat down next to him, put a hand on his bouncing leg, and asked, “Cohen, what’s wrong?”

He was so lost in thought that he jumped a bit when Summer sat down. “Oh, nothing.”

Summer rolled her eye, punched Seth in the arm, and told him, rather tersely, “Cohen! We’ve been through this before. Lying to me is the quickest way to a rage blackout!”

Rubbing his arm, Seth’s eyes got large with fear. “Ok. Ok. Calm down, woman!” 

He sighed before continuing, “I just talked with Ryan in the comic bookstore. I called him to see if he wanted me to pick him up something, and he seemed…, I don’t know, off.”

Summer calmed down with Seth’s explanation that he seemed somewhat worried about his brother. “Off? What do you mean?”

Seth couldn’t help but smile at the cute way her forehead crinkled and her brows knit together at times like this. “I don’t know. I mean, before I left this morning, he was joking and laughing, but now, he seems to be brooding big time. And I don’t know why. He said nothing was wrong, but you know how Ryan gets sometimes. And, when he gets all broody like this...” he paused for a moment, and looked down, very self-conscious before continuing, “I never know what to say or do. I usually start talking just to make noise, and usually say something to make things worse.”

Summer couldn’t really explain it, but she found it adorable how he could get so worried about his brothers. He had initially expressed his fears and concerns about Trey joining the family, and how it would change the dynamic of the Cohen family. But recently he had started rambling about both of his brothers and the different things they’d done together or talked about. She knew how important both of his brothers were to him.

She rested a hand on his leg, to try and put his bouncing leg to rest and comfort him. She softened her voice a bit, “Have you tried calling your dad? Does he have any ideas?”

Seth thought, not for the first time, about this girl sitting next to him, and how wise she was. He gave her a quick kiss, “That’s actually a really good idea, Sum! Dad always seems to know the right thing to do and say for Ryan.” He picked his phone up and dialed his father, while giving his girlfriend a loving smile.

_He always manages to do that, somehow,_ she thought as his smile sent shivers up and down her spine. She couldn’t help but smile back and take hold of his hand while he greeted his father.

“Hey, Dad,” was all Seth said in greeting to his father. 

Sandy could already tell something was up. First, Seth almost never called him at work, and second, his dark-haired son was never this quiet. “Hey, son. What’s up? Are you enjoying your day with Summer?”

Seth glanced at the girl sitting next to him and smiled again. “Yeah, it’s great.”

The phone descended into silence, and Sandy stopped what he was doing. He gave his son a couple of seconds and knew something was not right. He gave it a couple of more seconds and then asked, “Seth, what’s going on?”

At the same time, Summer practically shouted, “Cohen, tell him about Chino!”

His eyes got large again, “Ok. Did you guys practice that?” The glare he was getting from Summer told him that, no, they did not.

“And you know, Summer, Chino may not be the best nickname for Ryan anymore, because I now have two brothers that are from Chino.” He smiled to himself, a little too proud of himself.

“Cohen, you’re stalling!” she nearly growled at him.

Sandy had to smile at the bickering he heard over the phone. “Seth, as much as I would like to listen to Summer verbally smack you around some more,” he paused to chuckle at the stammering coming from the other end of the phone, but then he got serious again, “but I am still at work, son. What’s up with Ryan?”

Seth thought it would be best for his health if he were to get to the point. Summer’s glare was scarier than Ryan’s at this point. “Ok. Here’s the deal. When I left the house this morning, Ryan was laughing and joking. He was actually giving me a hard time that he got to stay at home playing video games. Can you believe that?!”

Sandy smiled again at the thought of his boys teasing each other. “Ok. So, what’s wrong?” he asked.

He was starting to get self-conscious again. “Well, I just talked to him on the phone. I called him to see if he wanted me to get him anything at the comic bookstore.”

After another pause, Sandy had to avoid rolling his eyes, “And?”

“Well, he sounded…… I don’t know, off. He’s been in a really good mood lately, but he was back to brooding. And I’m never really sure what to say or do, but Summer suggested I call you to see if you had any ideas.”

Sandy could hear the worry through the phone. He thought for a moment about how much Ryan’s concern for others had rubbed off on Seth. And how close they were. He was proud of his son. And his son’s girlfriend. “So, Ryan’s brooding again, huh? And he didn’t say why?”

“No, he just said everything was fine. But we both know what a crap liar he is, and boy did it stink even through the phone.”

Sandy thought for another moment. “Ok. I’ve got just a few more things I have to finish up here at the office, and then I can head home and check on him. I think I should be able to get out of here in about 15 minutes, OK?”

Seth couldn’t help but smile in relief, knowing his father would be making sure everything was copacetic. “Ok. Sounds good, Dad.”

“All right.” He thought for a moment, “Hey, son. Why don’t you give me a little bit of time to figure out what’s going on before coming home? Your mother and Trey should still be at work for a little bit longer. I’ll shoot you a text when it’s safe to come home. When your done at the mall, just head over to Summer’s house. Ok?”

He nodded in agreement. “Ok. I think I can do that,” he grinned at his girlfriend.

“Oh, hey, son. One more thing: I’m proud of you, Seth for calling me. And tell Summer I’m especially proud of her, since it was her idea you call me!” he smiled.

Seth chuckled. “Sure thing, Dad! I’ll see you later. Oh, and by the way, Dad… Thanks!” he said before hanging up.

As Seth pushed his phone back into his pocket, he smiled again at Summer. “Dad’s going to check in on Ryan. He’ll text me when the coast is clear.”

Summer took his hand. “Good. I’m glad. You’re a great brother, Cohen!” She laughed when his face tinted red a little at the compliment. She pulled him to his feet. “Now, hurry up! I have to figure out where that smell is coming from! It’s a cookie or something, and I must have it!”

Seth laughed as he allowed himself to be pulled along.

Trey and Kirsten walked in the front door. It had been a long week, but a good week. Now, they both were looking forward to relaxing over the weekend with their family. Trey walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. Then, hearing muffled talking from the TV room, he went to see the rest of his family. As he got closer, though, he could hear it was Sandy and Ryan talking on the couch. Their back was to him, and they were so engrossed in their conversation that they had not heard them come in. There was something about the way they were talking and facing each other just slightly, that told him he should take a page from his curly-haired brother and eavesdrop for just a moment longer. 

When he heard Dawn’s name a couple of times, he was glad he stopped to listen. However, by the time he could do or say anything, Kirsten came up behind him and asked, “Trey, what are you doing just standing here? Why don’t you go all the way in and say, ‘Hi’?” She gave him a funny look as she passed him and went up to Sandy and gave him a kiss on the lips.

“Hi, Ryan. Did you enjoy your day at home all alone?” she greeted her middle son. She noticed, however, that Ryan couldn’t make eye contact with anyone, but kept watching Trey out of the corner of his eye. And she noticed that Trey was currently boring a hole through Ryan’s head.

“Yeah, Ry. How was your day?” Trey asked with false calm, but Kirsten also noticed a hint of worry in his voice.

Sandy had stood up to stand next to his wife, to watch his sons interact. He also noticed the immediate change in Trey’s voice and body language. He wasn’t quite sure when he needed to intervene but watched them closely.

Ryan tried to play it off casually, chuckling nervously, he said, “Oh, you know. Did a bit of homework. Played video games.” He then tried to get the attention off himself. Pointing in the direction of the fridge, he said, “Hey, I got some pizza for lunch. There’s some leftover. It’s your favorite: pepperoni and mushroom.”

Trey nodded slowly and took a couple of more steps closer to the couch. Both Sandy and Kirsten noticed that Ryan took a small step or two back. They looked at each other in concern. Before they could say anything, Trey said, “Well, thanks for that.” He rubbed his chin, as if in thought, all the while pinning his brother to the wall with his stare. “What about Dawn?” he asked point blank.

Ryan closed his eyes and muttered something that his parents could have sworn was an expletive but couldn’t quite make it out. He really wished his brothers would stop eavesdropping so much! Looking at no one in particular, but watching everyone, specifically, Kirsten and Trey, out of the corners of his eyes, he said quickly, “She called my cell phone a couple of hours ago. I didn’t answer it, but she left a message.”

He swore he heard Kirsten gasp in surprise, but his attention was trying to figure out Trey’s reaction without looking at him. When Ryan did glance at him, he had a mixture of anger and concern on his face. “What did she want?” was Trey’s simple, quiet response.

“Nothing, really,” Ryan tried again to play it off as no big deal.

“Ryan.” This time it was Sandy with a quiet rebuke. “They should know the truth.”

Trey jumped on that, “Truth?! What truth?!” He was quickly looking between Sandy and Ryan.

Finally, Ryan’s shoulder’s slumped, and picked up his cell phone from the coffee table and went to play the voice mail from earlier.

“Hey, Bab… Ryan,” she corrected herself on the recording. “I just wanted to call and make sure you had this number and knew it was mine. I had to change my phone number, so this is it. So, now you can text me on this number. I’ll talk to you later. Bye, honey.”

When the message stopped, the silence in the room was almost overwhelming. When Ryan glanced at his mother, her hand was over her mouth, and surprise was written all over her face. Trey had turned away from them and took a few steps towards the French doors leading onto the back patio. Ryan could tell that his brother was counting to ten multiple times to keep whatever he was feeling under control.

Sandy just held onto Kirsten’s hand and watched Trey’s reaction and Ryan’s reaction to his brother’s. Finally, Trey turned around, and not looking at anyone, asked Ryan, “So, you’re texting her? Why? I don’t get it Ry, after everything she’s done, why would you still talk to her?” His frustration was mounting, as was the volume with nearly every word.

Kirsten tried to diffuse the situation by coming closer to Trey and putting a comforting hand on his arm. She was somewhat surprised that he didn’t pull away. While keeping her eyes on Ryan, she told Trey, “Well, honey, she is still your mother.”

She was not ready for Trey’s impassioned response. “No, she’s not! You are! Dawn hasn’t been our mother for a long time!”

Kirsten knew it probably wasn’t exactly the moment for it, but she couldn’t resist pulling Trey into a fierce hug, “Oh, thank you, honey! You have no idea what that means to me!”

Trey had just a moment to wrap his arms around the woman that had become his mother before she pulled back, wiping tears from her eyes. He turned his attention back to his brother. “Ry, this is our mother. I just don’t understand how you can still talk to her.”

He was thrilled, too, at his brother’s revelation of his feelings towards their “new” mother. But now that the focus was back on him again, his own frustration was starting to grow, “I know she is, man. And I don’t know, I guess I do still care for Dawn in a way. I don’t want anything bad to happen to her. I guess, by her texting me, it lets me know she’s at least somewhat ok.”

Trey sighed, as some of his frustration evaporated. It did make a certain amount of sense. Twisted sense, though. And it sounded just like his little brother, to still care for someone like that that completely screwed them over so badly! “Ok,” he conceded. “How often do you guys talk?”

Ryan could tell his brother was more in control of himself and the conversation was taking an upswing but was afraid of what would happen with his answer. “She texts me probably about once a week, and I respond maybe once or twice a month.” Again, Ryan wasn’t making eye contact with anyone.

Trey’s frustration started to rise again. “Once a week!” He then turned to their parents, and with exasperation, asked, “And you guys are OK with this?”

Sandy tried to reign things back in, again. “That’s what we were talking about when you came in. Your mother and I talked about stuff like this after Dawn came by the last time and we talked about the adoption.” Kirsten had made her way back to stand next to Sandy and they intertwined their hands to represent a united front. He tried to continue as delicately as he could, “Trey, you have to understand that just because you’re ready to move forward without Dawn, Ryan may not be. Whether you’re ready to move on or not, Dawn will always be a part of you. Your mother and I will support you in whatever you want to do with regard to Dawn, but we also will do the same thing for your brother. Dawn is still a somewhat important part of his life.” 

He could tell Trey was going to try to interrupt him, so he put his hand up to forestall him. “Let me finish, son. While we will support Ryan in what he wants to do with Dawn, it will also be on our terms. Ryan has agreed that when he gets a message from Dawn, he will tell us about it and show it to us as soon as he can. Before he responds, he will talk with us about it.” And looking at his younger son, “And he knows that the phone bill includes the numbers of received and sent messages. So, we will know if we aren’t told about any.” His raised eyebrows sent the message loud and clear.

Trey had to admit that those guidelines did sound a little bit reasonable, but he wasn’t quite ready to give in just yet. He couldn’t help but feel just a little betrayed that Ryan never told him about any of this. He would get over it, but he wasn’t ready to quite yet. 

He threw his arms and shoulders up in resignation, “OK. I guess that’s that, then.” He then turned to leave the room. 

Ryan called after him, “Man, come on. Don’t leave like this.”

Trey waved his hands. “Not right now, Ry. I just… I can’t right now. I’ll be in my room.” And walked off with slumped shoulders.

Kirsten could see a bit of despondency from her son’s distraught look following his brother’s retreat from the room. She went over to him and wrapped him in her arms. He returned the embrace and buried his face in her neck. Again, tears pricked at her eyes as one of her sons demonstrated their love for her. After a few moments, she pulled apart but kept her hand on his shoulders.

Ryan looked at his parents, and told them, “You guys are my parents, you know that, right? And Trey was telling you the truth. You’re his parents, too.” 

She patted his cheek affectionately, “We know. And it was really nice to hear Trey say that.” She paused a moment, “Do you think maybe I should go talk to him?” she asked, looking down the hall where Trey had just left the room. 

Ryan shook his head, “No, he’ll be fine.”

This time, Sandy looked at him with uncertainty. “Are you sure, kid? He seemed pretty upset.”

Ryan nodded, “Yeah. He’ll probably be fine by dinner.”

Sandy still was a bit unsure. “Really? How can you tell?”

Ryan cocked his head to the side a bit, and with a small smile, said, “I know it’s going to sound silly, but I can tell because he kept calling me Ry. When he’s really pissed, it’s never Ry.” And then as somewhat an afterthought, he added, “And if he’s not fine by dinner, Seth letting him beat him a couple of times on the PlayStation will do the trick.”

Both Sandy and Kirsten chuckled and how their sons interacted for a moment. Then Kirsten asked, seriously, “Do you guys often play one brother against the other?”

They were heading back into the kitchen and Ryan stopped dead in his tracks. That caught him off guard. He wasn’t expecting them to catch on so quickly. He kicked himself for saying too much, and wished, again, that Seth was around to save them. 

As Sandy looked at Ryan, he knew his son knew that they knew how they would handle each other. He chuckled slightly, and shook his head a bit, and warned, “Just be careful. You guys could hurt each other’s feelings pretty bad if you aren’t careful!” 

And his mother added, “And you better never try it on us!”

Ryan’s face was now one of panic. One look from both Sandy and Kirsten and they looked at each other with concern, their own wheels turning.

Kirsten was the first to catch on. “Wait a minute! Don’t tell me that’s what you guys did with the pool house and turning it into a gym, right?!” she asked sternly.

The way Ryan swallowed nervously, nearly bouncing from one foot to the other, they both knew what had happened. Sandy finally started laughing. Ryan started to feel a little better if his dad was laughing like that.

Kirsten lightly smacked him on the arm, “Sandy! You can’t actually think it’s a good idea for them to be playing us against each other?!”

“Yeah, Dad. I thought you’d be pissed at us. Thanks!” was Ryan’s reply.

Kirsten wheeled on Ryan, and pointed a finger at him, “Ok. That is the second time you’ve said ‘pissed’ in as many minutes. Stop!”

Sandy stopped laughing and looked at him, “No. It’s just we needed to do something with the pool house anyway, and it was so long ago, that there’s no real point in bringing all that back up. Just know, and tell your partner’s in crime, that if any of you do play one of us against the other again, all three of you boys will become intimately familiar with the term ‘discipline’, capiche?” 

His father’s seriousness nearly stunned him. “C-Capiche,” he stammered, with fear back on his face. He figured the best thing he could do right now, was retreat. He pointed towards the stairs, “Um, I think I’m going to head up to my room, too. See ya.” He nearly ran out of the kitchen.

Kirsten called after him, to let him know he wasn’t in any real trouble, “Ok. We’ll call you boys when supper’s here.”

Sandy snapped his fingers, “That reminds me. I need to give Seth the ‘all clear’, that he can come home now. Maybe he can pick up dinner.”

Kirsten looked at him a little strangely, “All clear?”

Sandy explained, “Yeah. Seth called me earlier and told me something was up with Ryan. He was ‘off’, as Seth described it. I’m glad he called, and I could come home and talk to him.” He went over and pulled his wife into a hug and kissed her hard on the lips. “We’ve got some great kids, you know that?”

She kissed him back, “And you are one great father!”

“Right back at you, Mom!”

And they stayed like that for a few moments, enjoying the quiet and holding each other.


End file.
